This photo has circulated in reports about a market in Myanmar during the COVID-19 pandemic
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on April 28, 2020 at 06:45
- 3 min read
- By AFP Sri Lanka
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The image was published here on Facebook on April 21, 2020. It has been shared more than 4,800 times.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:
The Sinhala-language text superimposed on the image translates to English as: “Good manners of the people of Kantale / Let's make it an example to follow / The whole country love you all”
Kantale is a small town located in the Trincomalee district of eastern Sri Lanka.
The post's caption reads: “A gesture that must be truly appreciated”.
The image was also shared here, here and here on Facebook alongside a similar claim.
The claim is false; the photo has circulated in reports about a market in Myanmar.
A reverse image search on Google found the same photo published here on the Facebook page “Pro Asia” on April 21, 2020.
Its caption reads: “A unique idea from Myanmar.”
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the photo in the Pro Asia post (R) :
A further keyword search also found this tweet published on April 19, 2020 by Thaung Tun, the head of the Myanmar government’s Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations, which includes similar photos of the same market. The tweet states: "Social distancing in practice! Hats off to Kalaw authorities and people.??."
Social distancing in practice! Hats off to Kalaw authorities and people.?? pic.twitter.com/SpHv1iL3nA
— Thaung Tun (@ThaungTun20) April 19, 2020
Kalaw is a town in the Shan state of Myanmar.
The images in Tun’s tweet show similar multicoloured parasols to the image in the misleading post.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading post (L) and the photo of Tun’s tweet (R), with the parasol circled in red by AFP:
The location seen in the photo in the misleading posts generally corresponds with this Google Street View imagery of Kalaw Myoma Market.
Similar photos of the market were also published in this April 20, 2020 tweet by the Philippine news channel ABS-CBN and this report by the Thailand-based newspaper The Nation on April 21, 2020, about social distancing in Myanmar.
LOOK: Vendors and buyers practice physical distancing in a public market in Myanmar.
— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) April 20, 2020
As of April 20, 2020, Myanmar has 111 confirmed cases of #COVID19, with 7 recoveries and 5 deaths.
?Jain Weraphong | via @goldiesaurin pic.twitter.com/HVVC5PKvHM
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